High-entropy alloys (HEAs) are defined as multicomponent alloys having at least five metallic elements with amounts in the range 5-35 atomic % (at. %) [1, 2]. There has been growing interest in HEAs since some can show high strength [3, 4], high ductility [5] and very high fracture toughness values, particularly at low temperatures [6]. Another interesting feature of HEAs is their sluggish diffusion, which means that following cold work recrystallization requires high annealing temperatures and can result in small grain sizes [5, 7, 8].
Substantial solid solution strengthening in single-phase HEAs likely arises from lattice distortions due to the elements having different atomic radii [5]. However, modeling the strengthening behavior of substitutional atoms in HEAs is problematic since it is not possible to define which are the solute atoms and which are the solvent atoms [5].